Car-identifying means



May 29, 1928.

S. K. WOOD CAR IDENTIFYING MEANS Filed Dec. 2o, 192e IN V EN TOR. Sify/00d.'

m N T T A Patented May 29, w28.

UNiTE- i tenaz STRAUD K. WOOD, OF HUTCHINSON, KANSAS.

cnn-IDENTIFYING MEANS.

Application filed necemberac'; '1925, senaimA 156,026.

rlhis invention relates to motor car identifying appliances of' that character involv-v ing the use .of a State or equivalent certificate or ticket adapted lor display on the car and which if mutilated is justification for investigation andA perhaps arrest of the party in possession of such car. The invention is designed more especially as an improvement in the corresponding device on which Letters Patent No. 1,519,472, issued to me .December16, 1924, and my object is to produce a car identifying means of the same general character asthat ofthe patent above identified but of more compact construction, more certain in the mutilation or l destruction of the certificate under the conyao ditions hereinafter mentioned; which can be assembled or opened more readily than the patented one referred to, and which is less liable to be `accidentally opened and hence veffect the inadvertent mutilation of the rcerticate. f p

,"With these and other objects in View, the inv'entionconsists'in certain novel and use ful features of construction and combinations lof parts as set forth in the statement of the objects of the invention; and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had' 'to the accompanying drawing, in which 4 Figure lis al face view of an appliance vembodying the invention.

' AFigure 2 is an enlarged vertical section on the line II-I of Figure 1.

Figure 8 is an enlarged horizontal section on the line III-III of FigureV l'. 1

`'Figure el is a fragmentary face view of a transparent plate forming ar part of the invention.

" Referring to the drawing in detail, 1 indicates a back'member of rectangular form and provided vwith a rearwardly offset panelled portion 2 and av pair of offset portions 3, so that when the portion f2 is fitted' against the'dash or equivalent part of an automobile, the ofl'set portions `3' will engage the dash also and inconjunction with the offset panel 2 insurev a flat firm bearing against the dash. At opposite vertical edges -themember 1 is provided with outwardly projecting perforated ears llswhich are offset rearwardly from 4the member inward of its side margins. The upper end of the members is bent forwardly anc downwardly at '5 to provide a downwardly opening groove,

and at its lower edge `is formed with a depending slotted tongue 6. The front member 7 which corresponds in form to the rear member, is bent at its op? posite vertical edges as at 8 tol provide rearwardly and inwardly opening grooves for the slidable reception of the side edges" of the rear member, and at its ,lower edge the front' member is'bent rearwardly andvup'- wardly as atl 9 to provide a groove for' the reception of the lower edge of the rear member, it being also notedthat the upper edge grooved upper edge of the rear member.

'of the front 'member is lreceived in the gether, interlocked at all four ledges against movement tendingto spread them apart, and

Ito guard against the opening of any of'said vgrooved edges by` bending the metal, each of the bent' edges is weakened, as by scoring them as at 10,sothat' ifan attempt-,is made to straightenout one of the grooved edges, the metal will break along the score and lthus yindicate that the appliance has' been tain',- peredwith'.

The front member` is provided with a forwardly offset portion 11 'of rectangularA form and `of almost `the full area of the member,

and such voffset is provided with a window =openings12- "A transparent plate 13is of size and formv yto fill the chamber of .the'oflisetting portion 11, and is Vof sufficient thickness Vto press a paper'certificate lllfirmly againstthe back member`.` 'In practice, as in the patented State, Make, Type, Model, Power, Capacity,

"construction hereinbefore identified, these A'certificate bear certain indicia, ,such as the license was'issued, the signature of the owner transparent plate shall also bear they name "and other matter, if desirable, and` while' not absolutely essential 1t is desirablethat the of the State, the number of the license, and

the year in'which the licensewas issued,`

preferablyv in some permanent.character vor forma-s 'byniolding or sand blasting.A

The transparent plate is provided with ,one or more angular recesses 14? in its rear side and projecting intosaid yrecess or recesses is the ,hookend of spring or springs l5 spot-welded or otherwise rigidly secured tothe back member within 'the-panel portion 2 thereof. Each hook end and recess 14a of the plate when in operative relation', are in l vertical alinement with a channel 16 formed in the upper edges of the front member by bowing the material outward, the channels being sufficiently deep to receive the hook endsof the springs without necessitating repression of Athe `hooks by fingerk pressure of the operator. In other words, the provision of the channels facilitates the operative assembly of the two members, it

y repress the respective hook end so that thel kso being obvious that if the upper edge of the front iiieinbei' above the odsetting portion' 11 thereofwas fitted Hat for its entire area against, the corresponding portion of the back member, the lower ends, of the hook members in the sliding of the two members together would strike upon and arrest the sliding action. In this case the hooks would have to vbe repressed by hand before suoli action could continue. With-channels provided-in the upper end of the front member to receive said hook ends, this trouble is not encountered, it being further noted that the base of each channel slopes downwardly and rearwardly and thus serveas a cam to latter may readily pass the upper rear edge of the plate and the paper where folded around such edge without injury or appreciable .injury to the latter, asin sliding the members together, the relative downward movement of the baclrmember and upward movement of thel front member, the hook ends are adapted to slide downward on the paper and when they register with the recesses 14a snap forward into the same.

and cannot be readily punctured by the hook -ends as they spring forward,- it is desirable to provide the paper with `openings 17, and' it is furthermore desirable that the upper edgesof said openings shall' stand ina lower plane than, the upper v'edges of the recesses 14a, so thatshould'the members'be drawn apart the inevitable lconsequence would be the multilation or tearing of the certificate and thus indicate that the appliance had been tampered with and authorize a proper officer to make an investigation as `to 'the ownership of the person in charge 0f the. car, and to insure the mutilation of the vcertificate when it is opened, without destroying data which may be upon t-hey certifi- "cate inl proximityto the openings 17, the

certificate is weakened in parallel lines as at 18 from the openings 17 "to the upper edge of the plate. By thus weakening the certificate, the multilation will be confined to tearing on and between the weakened lines. To make it necessary to remove the appliance from a carl before it canbe` opened by sliding the vmembers apart, and .thereby guard 'against accidental downward move- 'ment of'the front member through jolting In the event the paper is of a tough character tongue 6 of the rear member projects, and l the tongue .is equipped with a detachable loop or clip 22. This loop or clip canreadily be removedby hand when desiiedbiit whenin place will prevent accidental dis-A engagement of ther front and back members,

as it is incapable of passing 'through ythe slot 21. The tongue 6vhas an additional function in that it'can be used as a hammer -to enable an authorized person to start the slidable operation of the members when not secured together by the bolts,.iii the event .that they tend to stick. With the .devicel properly made, the members fit together very snugly and a reasonable force is required ordinarily to ldraw them apart. For'this reason one may, by starting the separation by hitting the tongue 6 against a liXed Surface, make it much easier to obtaina good imY grip on thetwo members for completingthe movement. which movement as hereinabove statedwill e'ect the mutilation of the .certificate through the action of the spring hooks. y

From the above description it 'will be apparent that while I have produced. a vconi struction embodying all ofthe featuresof advantage set forth as desirable, it, is tobe understood that I reserve the right to make all changes properly falling within ,the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Iclaimr- 'l ,y

Y 1. A ear identifying means comprising a backy member and a front member fitted v*slidingly together with a tongue andgroove relation at vertical edges, one member having rearwardly-offset perforated lugs, pro-- jectingqlaterally, beyond its own vvertical edges Vand the corresponding edges of the vother member. and the latter haviiignotches in its vertical edges outward ofthe corresponding edges ofthe first member, andin register with vthe perforations o-f'said lugs,

and securing devices extending through thev perforations of said lugs and providedwith heads bearing against the lugs and fitting` in said notches to prevent relative sliding movement of the members.

2. A car identifying means, comprising a back member and a front member having a window opening, for fitting slidably to"V gether, the back member having its upper wardly and providing a cam sloping downwardly and rearwardly to a point in proximity to the upper rear edge of the plate,

to repress the spring as the members arev slid together so that the hook-terminal may readily pass back of the plate and the certicate without mutilating the latter, and, as the sliding action is completed,snap forward through the certificate into the lrecess of the plate.

3. A car identifying means comprising a back member and a front member fitted atly together with a tongue and groove relation at opposite parallel edges, the front member having a forwardly projecting *panely portion having a window, a glass plate fitting in the recess provided by said panel and covering said window, a readily destruotible certificate interposed between the glass plate and the `back member and in con- Y tact with said plate and the back member, and a spring secured within the back member and having aprong engaging the certifieate totear or mutilate the same should the members be slid apart; .one of the said Amembers having rearwardly-offset perforated lugs projecting laterallyvfrom the sides of said member, and the other member having notches in its side edges outward of the corresponding edges of the body portion of the irst member and in register with the perforations of said lugs, and securing devices extending through the perforations of said lugs and provided with heads bearing against the latter and fitting in said notches to prevent relative sliding movement of the members.

In witness whereof I hereunto aix my y signature.

STRAUD K; WOOD. 

